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AN ADBRESS 



DELIVKRED BEFORE 



ITHE CITIZENS OF KNQXVILLE, 






THE lOTH DAY OF FEBRUAKY..:,l;Bi^^f 



; THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL ANNIVKRSAUY OF TlfE SETTLE?,IENT OF THE TOWN. 



BY THOS. W. HUMES. 



KNOXVILLE, TEN.: 
PUBLISHED BY E. G. EASTMAN, 

1843. 



KxoxviLLE, Feb. 10, 1843. 
T. W. Uimv.s, E8q.: 

Sir: — The undersigned, Committee of Arrangements for celebrating the 
Fiftieth Anniversary of tlie settlement of Knoxville, tender you their thanks for 
the very interesting address you dehvered before your fellow-townsmen on 
the occasion, and request a copy for publication. 

Respectfully, your obedient servants, 
E. ALEXANDER, 
G. M. HAZEN, 

E. G. EASTMAN, ^ n ^ a 
JAMES WILLIAMS, >Com> of .Arrangements. 

HU: L. McCLUNG,' 
JOHN WILLIAMS, 



Knoxville, Feb. 10, 184*3. ! 

Gentlemen : — A copy of the Address delivered on the Fiftieth Anniversary j 

of the settlement of Knoxville, in compliance with your request, is placed in ! 

your hands for pulilication. ' 

With sentiments of esteem, j 

I am, yours respectfully, j 

THOS. W. IlUxMES, 

E. Alexander } n -,, 






ADDHESa 



We have assembled, lellovv-cltizens, to celebrate an event of fifly 
years ago. To tlie aj^ed men and matrons in our midst, it may seem 
but as yesterday, so brief are the measures of time that belong 1o our 
past lives; but to the young, exulting in vigorous life and revelling in 
the rich promises of hope, halt a century is full long enough to tlirov/ 
around the occurrences which marked its advent, all ihat deep, peihans 
melancholy, interest, thatatlaches to the liistory of the olden time. 'I'he 
actions of tlie wise, the brave, the good of the pas^ appear to us, through 
the dim vista of many years, with a placid radiance — not dazzling into 
blind admiration, but exciting ti'anquil delight mingled with reverence. 
We look upon them, not as we look upon the actions of living, 
breathing men around us. The actors themselves have gone from the 
earth — are forever disrobed of their humanity — liave passed away into 
the illimitable future, of which life and death in their highest, most im- 
perishable forms, are the elements. They are not of us nor with us • 
and as one cycle of years is followed by another, since ihey knew death, 
they seem farther and faitlier removed tVom and beyond us, and we lin- 
ger over theii deeds ^vith still stronger emotions of awe. Whp.t if the 
feeling be unfavorable to the indulgence ofa cold and severe criticism (;f 
tiieir character and works.? They may surely be aUowed some freedom 
from the lash of our censoriousness, when the teeming world around 
us and our individual lives, are so loud and frequent in their calls for its 
application. Tlie quaint expression of my Loid t>acon, in the le<2acy of 
liis "name and memory to men's charitable speeches," aptly conveys tlso 
universal trust bequeathed the living by the dead, and it is but justice that 
we deal with it generously. 

Fifty years ago ! How crowded, to the living remnants of a deparled 
generation, now within these walls, is the half eentury, that is gone, 
witii pleasant and bitter remembrances ! And yet if truly wise, even 
as they look upon the images of broken hopes and violated resolutions 
and severed adections that so tlirong its silent avenues, they cannot 
wish that the waters of Lethe be rolled over it, for those very resolu- 
tions and hopes and aiTections have taught them a lesson of stern import, 
which they have treasured in their hearts. Blot out the Pastf to them! and 
ihey are robbed of the richest solace of their age, except in the hopes 
they may have garnered up in Heaven. It is indeed more familiar to 
them than the Present. Tlie things of yesterday they may forget, when 
those of long time ago have a vividness to tlieir mind's eye, that is forci- 
bly illustrative of the recreative power of mcniory. See that venerable 



man as he bends over his desolate hearth-stone ! In the beautiful lan- 
guage of Scriplurc, so expressive of physical decay, " the keepers of 
his house tremble" anJ "• tliosc that look out of his windows are dark- 
ened." His ears are closed forever to the voice of human sympathy. 
Wife — children— friends — all gone ! Like the once cheerful fire that 
burned at his side, they have left him with their dust and ashes. He is 
alone but not solitary. See ! his countenance radiant with joy ; his lips 
murmur inarticulate sounds. He is coimmining ivith the dead! Once more 
the forms of departed friends pass before him — once more he catches 
the smile of his wife — once more the merry laughter of his little ones 
rings in his ears. Memory has brought the shadowy throng around 
him and filled his chamber with the music of the loved and 
lost. 

The past has indeed a charm to the old, that they only can appre- 
ciate ; and to those who mingled in the early scenes of Knoxville, and 
who yet linger upon the stage, the occurrences of to-day cannot but be 
gratifying. Standing almost isolated from their former associates, in the 
midst of a new generation, even the public events of their youth, with 
many of which the mystic chain of association may have indissolubly 
bound their hearts, seem in some sense their especial property. To 
those who are yet in the summer of life, those events will have a difl'er- 
ent interest — perhaps fewer attractions. When the pulse beats strong 
and full and the heart is thrillingly alive to the excitements of the pre- 
sent, the past engages but an occasional emotion, unless from its deej) 
bosom, the terrible shape of some huge misfortune or fearful crime, 
rears itself aloft and throws its baleful shadows forever on the path. 
With the young and the mature, is^ow, like an ever-gaping Maelstrom, 
swallows up so many thoughts, that few are spared even from the busi- 
est workings of the brain. Wealth must be hoarded, as often under the 
spur of emulation as the love of gain. The fierce impulses of Ambi- 
tion, seldom lofty in its nature or tangible in its purpose, must be obey- 
ed ; and the calls of every hungry passion, too often complete and pre- 
serve the tumult of the mind. 

It is honorable to you, my iellow-citizen?, to stop awhile, as you have 
to-day, the current ot your busy cares and unite in celebrating thfe birth 
of the place, consecrated to you as the theatre of your childhood's pas- 
times or of your " manhood's joy and mourning, conquest and loss:" at 
least, endeai'ed to you by all the clinging ties of home, lamily, and friends. 
The mistress of tlie world had hcv nulalis urhe^ and before the pride 
of conquest and the lust of power had eaten into lier heart, her citizens 
shed no blood in the sacrifices of the day. If, catching the spirit that 
prompted their rejection of all that might defile the solemnity of such 
an occasion, we have come together, banishing all party animosities and 
jealousies, as impire and unworthy of admission to the scene, it may be 
that the act of their burial, even if it be but temporary, will give a new 
spring to the prosperity of Knoxville and date an important era in its 
history. 

On the 7th of August, 1790, William Klount, of North Carolina, re- 
ceived Ins commission as Governor of the Territory soutl: of the liver 
Ohio, by appointment of President Washington, and arrived in the 



country in the following Octo])(M-. It i^ prohabk; he took up !ii^; resi- 
dence in the vicinity of thi;^ place, then covcrt-il witli n t!)ick(>t ol' hi usli- 
wood, early in '91. A maniiscri[)t narrative oranoUl soklicr, who with 
a company of militia on their way to l/Uniberland, t;ncairii);-d for six 
weeks about that time near the creek west of town — v.'here, according- 
to his account, the soldiers wrestled so much as to give the place l!ie 
name of Scullle-town, which it yet bears, — mentions the encampment 
of John Watts and Double Head before the cabin of Gov. DIoiuit,. then 
standing on the knoll between the hill on which East Tennessee Univeisily 
now is and the river. The treaty of Holston concluded with the Cher- 
okees on the 2d of July, '91, was held on the bank of the river at llic 
foot of Water street, where a fe\v rude shanties were erected for the re- 
ception of Governraentstores ; and in tiie words of an ancient act, "Gov. 
Blount having determined to fix the seat of Government on the spot," 
" it was deemed expedient there to establisii a town," which was "ac- 
cordingly laid out m Februai'y. 'S2, immediately below the second creek 
that runs into Holston on tite north side below the moulh of Fiench 
Broad, by James White," oiiginal proprietor of the soli, " and called 
Knoxville, in honor of Maj. General Henry Knox, llien Secretary of 
War." It will be observed that this determination of Gov. Blount, is 
given m the act, as Uic vcRSon par exceUence, for the establishment of the 
town, and most sudicient reason was it. Wliether it be esteemed weigh- 
ty enough to have satisfied the speculating wise-acres of 1836-7, wlio 
laid out cities in swamps and primitive forests that they had never seen 
and bought and sold them at ever-increasing premiums, or considered so 
trivial as to be classed with tlie insigniiicant causes that have so often 
decided more important events m all ages of the world, it was certain- 
ly respectful to His Exce!Ien(;y thus to honor his head quatters, as well 
as politic, by adding to the extrinsic dignity of his official character in 
the eyes of the savages. We might stop to speculate upon the motives 
which prompted the Governor to lix upon this spot for his seat of Gov- 
ernment, and inquire if the reasons which moved his decision, have not 
since multiplied in number and force and should not be equally operative 
w^ith our present law-givers ; but it would scarcely be apposite to our 
purpose. His Excellency may not have been able to adopt the asser- 
tion of Theraisiocles the Athenian, wiio, when asked in raillery at a 
feast to play upon the lute, replied he " could not fiddle, but he could 
make a small town a great city :" yet is unquestionable, that to his sin- 
gle will we mainly owe the existence of our town, when if it had been 
put to vote after republican usage, it might not have been, or if it iiad, 
been any where else than 'immedialely below the mouth of vSecond creek.' 
The only inhabitants of the town at the time of its establishment, were 
John Cliisolm, Mr. McLemee, Hugh Dunlap, now^ living at Paris m this 
State, and Samuel and Nathaniel Cowan. The first kept a tavern ; 
Mr. Dunlap and the Messrs, Cowan sold merchandize. It was not un- 
til the nth of June, '92, that Knox county was established by an ordi- 
nance issued by the Governor. 

Flis Excellency being sincerely devoted to the interests of the country 
and anxious that all important inlelligenee should be promptly brought 
to the knowledge of the people, induced tlie immigration of Mr. Ron!- 



stono, a jirinlcr, who nnivcil in Oaq coiui'iy wllli the materials of his 
Irnde in '91. Knoxvillc at that liino havini^ no existence heyoiid a pros- 
jiectivc one hased upon the Governor's intention, the disciph.; of Faust 
lialled at Ilogersville and in that pUice, on the 5lh ofNovemher, '91, is- 
sued tlie lirst number of the Knoxville Gazette. By tliis u-ilful anachro- 
nism, not only was Knoxville anticipated in its existence by several 
months, hut in tlie exigency of tliC occasion, was forced into an ideal 
being-and given a local habitation for the nonce in the village of ilogers- 
ville. The odice was, however, soon removed to Knoxville itself, and 
Ilogersville relieved from its ambiguous position and the constructive 
imputation, that not content with its proper name, it had usurped the title 
of the embryo seat of Government. 

The "Gazette" was the (irst paper published within the limits of t!ie 
present State of Tennessee, and llourished its diminutive proportions 
every week, no doubt much to the gi-atification of itssubscribers. it was 
rather dingy of hue and scanty in its allowanceof matter for intellectual 
regalement, but even had I's readers been posses.sed of the enormous swal- 
lows of the public now-adays, enabling them to gulp down wi;h per- 
fect lisllessncss any imaginable quantity of literary tritles, they 
had no leisure fur the indulgence, from their necessary avocations and al- 
most perpetual strife with the savages. Mr. Roulslone continued its 
publication fur many years, and performed in the intermediate time all 
the duties of Printer to the Territorial and State Governments. Tlie 
patronage thus enjoyed, would however scarcely excite the envy of the 
modern practisersof his art, as the entire cost ot the Acts and Journals 
of '92, was only six hundred dollars, in consideration of which sum, 
all proclamations and oiher public acts of the Government were also 
printed. Regarded as the pioneer of newspapers in the country, the 
Gazette engages an interest which its intrinsic merits would not obtain. 
Solitary and alone in the midst of an extensive territory, its adventitious 
importance was necessarily considerable. The publisher was a man of 
rather more than ordinary capacity, but seldom ventured opinions, con- 
fining himself to the mere easy and ordinary duty of chronicling passing 
events. The time was one of constant physical action and the people 
were too much engrossed with the labors ofthe field and the terrible per- 
ils that environed them, to pay much heed to the strife of opinion through- 
out the Union, with regard to the powers of the Federal Government. 
Not that they \vcrc insensible to the importance of grave political 
questions. To the enduring truths promulged in the Declaration of In- 
dependence, their consciences eloquently rcsjjonded. Their love of country 
had all the (ixedness of a principle and all the ardor of a passion. Mow un- 
like in this, to too many of our own day, who regard it in the severe 
light of a duty : not murmuring indeed at its imposition, but still enter- 
taining it as some men hold their marriage ties — cherishing their wives 
from motives of conventional propriety and not witli the pure unbidden 
gusliings-forlh of the heart. V/e know it is a custom to sneer at all 
delineations of the lofty patriotism ( f our countrymen of the last cen- 
tury which contrast so strongly with the lack of vitality in that of our 
coiilemporaries, as the work of ilippant fancy, but we doubt if the 
representation ever surpasses juGiice. If it be an illusion, we would 



■not have it dcslroyed. We love to contemplate their glowing zeal — 
their nevci-ccasing care — their almost paternal tenderness Ibi their 
country. There is something ennoblinj^ in the picture. V.'c think bet- 
ter of liumanity as we dwell upon it, and better of our race. It reflects 
a charm upon our country itself fhat attracts towards her the best atlec- 
tions of her children ; for the object that can absorb such care and ten- 
derness and zeal, must indeed be worthy. But it is not an illusion. The 
men of old cherished a patriotism that stands out in bold relief, like 
the piety of primitive christians. They loved their country, not merely 
under the impulse of duty. She aj)peared to them in all the freshness 
and beauty of a virgin bride, and the full tide of their alFections was 
poured out at her feet. Oh ! if every American could catch a spark of 
the fervid spirit that burned in their breasts, what magnificence of 
spectacle would the Republic preseni ! 

Notwithstanding the pledges of perpeUial amity made by the Chero- 
kees at the Treaty of Holston, they very soon afteru'ards gave decided 
evidences of hostility. The Government, being well aware of the con- 
stitutional propensity of the savages to deck their persons and wigwams 
with the proofs of their skill and courage, m the shape of scalp-locks, 
\vas apprehensive that the news of St. Clair's defeat by the North- 
western Indians in November, '91, would stimulate the Sculhern tribes 
to arms. Whether influenced by that disaster or not, the Cherokees of 
the five lower towns, lying Northwest of Chattanuga mountain, early 
in '92, declared for war, having first indulged themselves with the 
amusements of a scalp-dance and an eagle-tail dance, which were of 
course performed in a very bloody humor and in utter contempt of the 
spirit in which such entertainments are conducted in civilized life. The 
Little Turkey, Principal Chief, was by no means disposed to wink at 
this premature turbulence, and in the heat of his anger, promptly pro- 
scribed the dancers from all intercourse with the rest of the nation. — 
The white men were not however satisfied of Little Turkey's ability, 
whatever may have been their opinion of his disposition, to enforce up- 
on his refractory subjects a non-intercourse law that would include Chris- 
tian settlements; and prudently look measures for their own defence. — > 
The result proved that they liad not misconceived their danger. The 
savages commenced their predatory warfare early in the Spring'. The 
white man was shot down at his plough by an unseen l.and; — children 
gathering berries were tomahawked and scalped ; the quiet family were 
roused at midnight by a war-whoop and the morning sun looked down 
upon their butchered forms and the smoking ruins of their dwellings. — 
A terrible apprehension hung round every fire side. As the marauders 
only prowled through the country in petty bands, they confined their dep- 
redations to solitary houses, the way-farer and the lahorer in the field, 
but their approaches to Knoxville were, in many instances, too close 
not to beget a mistrust of safety in the infant town. 

The Treaty of Holston provided for the delivery of certain valuable 
goods to the Cherokees and the annual payment to them of a thousand 
dollars; but in the following December, the President was unexpected- 
ly visited by an embassy headed by Bloody Fellow, intent, among other 
objects, upon the substitution of fifteen hundred dollars in goods for the 



lliousniul ill ir.0!U'3'. This request was ginnled and the ambassa- 
dors rcliirncd homo accomjianicd by a United Stales agent with about 
lliirty five hundred doHars of" personal pi'cscnts to the Chief's, warr'iors, 
and inter{)reters, and seventeen hundred of goods. Tlie division of this 
treasure was to take place at Coyalec in May, '92, and so pressing were 
the sohcilations of the Chiefs to Gov. Blount to honor it with his pres- 
ence, that he at lens^th consented. Never met man with more compli- 
menlary reception, than that given to His Excellency by the delighted 
savages, wliose animal spirits were elevated to fever heat by the o-oodly 
array of cloths and beads. Even the warriors of the lower towns 
could not absent themselves from the enticing ceremony, but made their 
appearance with their hands clean-washed of the blood of their recent 
slaughters and their faces in the very interesting dress of a ground of 
b'ack paint sprinkled over with flour in token that they " had been at 
war, but were now for peace." The Governor's Address, filled with just 
complainis and closed with a demand for the restitution of prisoners, 
was answered by the breath of Nickajack with a profusion of prom- 
ises: and the Hanging Maw followed with an announcement of the 
grand national council to be held at the beloved Eustanaula in thirty 
nights, when Bloody Fellow, otherwise General Eskaqua by appoint- 
ment of President Washington, would render a report of his recent visit 
to Philadelphia. 

Before that time arrived, important influences changed the temper of 
the Chiefs. The Spanish authorities in Florida and Louisiana had 
watched with much jealousy the extension of our settlements in the val- 
ley of the Mississippi ; and while the Government of the United States 
was constant in its efforts to cultivate term.s of amity with them, they 
did not hesitate under the pretence of compliance with their treaties 
with the Indians, to furnish them with arms and ammunition for their 
frequent forays. John Watts was met a few miles distant from Coyatee 
upon his departure from that place, by an Indian runner who delivered 
hiui a letter addressed to liimself and Bloody Fellow, from Mr. Panton, 
a British merchant in Pensacola, who had realized immense gains from 
the Indians and whose interest urged him to encourage them to hostili- 
ties with the Ameiicans, as in that event his traiBc would be enlarged. 
The letter invited them in the name of O'Neal, Governor of Florida, to 
visit Pensacola with ten pack-horses, promising them arms and ammu- 
nition from the Governor and goods from Panton to the extent of their 
Avants. The wily trader, in a personal intervie^v vvith Little Turkey, 
templed him with similar inducements, and not altogether unsuccessfully. 
The letter of Panton was written from the house of McDonald, a Scotch 
resident in the nation, to which place AVatts instantly departed, and being 
furnished with a letter from McDonald to Gov. O'Neal, started without 
delay for Pensacola. Bloody Fellov/ accompanied him but a short dis- 
tance. The Eustanaula council on the 23d of June was called with an 
especial view to his presence, but he faded to be there. Little Turkey 
however was present, and in the captious spirit which the tampering of 
the Spanish agents had imparted him, advanced a claim with regard to 
a boundary line that had never before been arrogated. No reply was 
made bv the council to the letter of Gov. Blount which was laid before 



it, proposing the appoinltiient of commissioners to extend and mark the 
line agreeably to the Treaty of liolston. On the 2Gth of October, the 
day proposed, Judge Campbell, Chas. McClung, and Jno. McKee at- 
tended on the part of the United States, but the Cherokees were unrep- 
resented and the line was run without being marked. 

Upon ^V'atts's return in August from Pensacola, Gov. Blount invited 
him in courteous style to visit KnoxviJle, but he treated the request with 
entire neglect and proceeded to WilTs town, where the Cherokees were 
assembling from all quarters to hear his report and recreate themselves 
with a green-corn dance. Watts addressed them, told of his visit to 
Florida, lauded the Si)aniards, denounced the Americans, and advised 
war. Bloody Fellow replied in opposition. "Look!" said he, "at 
that flag. Don't you see the stars in it.'' They are not towns ; they 
are nations. " Upon dispersing tor a short time, the young fellows, who 
as Watts said " were always wanting to go to war," reduced their per- 
sons to a condition of comparative nudity, and modestly covering the 
naked parts with black paint, commenced a w^ar-dance, which they 
prolonged throughout the night. This ebullition of feeling no doubt had 
its influence, unless all demagogues have white faces. The next day the 
debate was renewed and much enlivened by the speech of a Shawnee, 
who gave his auditors the gratifying information that he had killed three 
iiuntlred men and the lime was come that he should kill three hundred 
more. The war-dance was resumed after a declaration for war by the 
council, and continued jntil dawn around the United States flag, upon the 
stars of which, the warriors, as if in contempt of Bloody Fellow's 
poetical allusion, occasionally tried their skill as marksmen. Indeed he 
seemed sotoconstrue it, for he threatened them with violence unless they 
desisted. The next day the council met by adjournment at Lookout 
Pilountain town. The party numbered six hundred. Calculating upon 
an accession of two or three hundred, it was resolved to form four equal 
divisions, attack and desolate the Holston settlements as high up as the 
big island of that river, then scatter in small companies and perform the 
same offices upon the French Broad settlements up to its head ; but on 
the ensuing day the direction of their purposes was changed, perhaps 
from caprice, to the Cumberland settlements. Two days were given 
for preparations for the incursion. But alas! for the inconstancy of 
savage virtue. A few hours elapsed and they "put an enemy in their 
mouths that stole away their brains." The same day on which John 
Watts arrived in Pensacola, witnessed the departure from the place of 
another Cherokee Chief who delighted in the significant name ot Una- 
catahe or White-Man Killer. Stoppini^ at his own house just long 
enough to enlist tlie company of his wife for a new journey, he came 
on with her to Knoxville and feasted with the perfect non-chalance of 
an intimate friend upon the hospitality of Gov. Blount at his own house 
for ten consecutive days. He made no professions of business but 
abundant professions ot friendslvp. In regard to the results of his ob- 
servation at Pensacola, he was uniformly silent, and equally so as to the 
object of his visit to Knoxville. It is not improbable that he was dele- 
gated by Watts to spy out the nakedness of the place and that the com- 
pany of his help-mate was intended to cover his purpose? of espial from 



Id 

the wliite-wian^s eye. He at lengUi departed with a canoe laden with 
whiskey, and on the same day on which iiis tawny brethren determined 
in council at Lookout Mountain town upon their attack on the Cumber- 
land settlements, Unacatahe landed with his liquid treasure at the mouth 
of Lookout Mountain creek, fifteen miles distant. The news of his 
ai rival soon reached tiie councd-men and a deputation was instantly- 
started for the fire-water. Of course there was no talk ihe next day 
lind no preparations for the [iroposcd iri-uption, for the warriors with 
lew exceptions were stupid with intoxication, and the idea of an im- 
mediate inroad was altogether abandoned. Deraque, a Frenchman, 
and Finnelston, a half-breed, were sent forward to Nashville, witii a 
promise to return in ten nights with a report of the country's condition 
for defence. Had Unacatahe represented Knoxville and the adjoining 
settlements as open to attack, the arms of the party would no doubt 
have been turned against them. But he seems to have left here with 
very strong impressions of the belligerent qualities of tlie citizens ; for a 
blow received in a drunken fray at a. tavern, he magnified into a dread- 
ful beating and garnished with threats from the townsmen to shoot him, 
and these imaginary evils were made the subject of a formal complaint 
from the Glass to the Governor. Deraque and Finnelston had assumed 
the capacity of spies, with the intention to put the whites upon their 
guard ; and on their arrival at Nashville, they made a full disclosure to 
Gen. Robertson of the designs of the savages and informed him of t!ie 
resolution of the council to write letters to Gov. Blount in a pacific spii it, 
to deceive him as to their purposes. Tliis fiict Robertson communicated 
to Blount by express, but it did not reach Knoxville until the Governor 
]iad received and acted upon tiie fraudulent letters, one of which came 
from Bloody Fellow, in'whom he bad reposed much confidence. The 
warriors at Lookout Mountain town, however, did not wait the return of 
their faithless emmissanes to Cumberland, but after recovering from the 
eftects of the fire-water from Knoxville, dispersed, and only two hun- 
dred of them, headed by John Walts, were found with the formidable 
band of Creeks, shortly afterwards repulsed from Buchanan's Station. 
\\'atts was severely wounded, and upon partial convalescence, — disap- 
pointed and chagrined, and moved by the apprehension which was pre- 
valent among the Cherokees that Gen. Sevier with his entire brigade 
then under arms woulu enter the nation and destroy their villages, 
sent a delegation to Gov. Blount with pacific assurances. They arrived 
at Knoxville on the 5th of January, '93, and after a stay often days, re- 
lumed under the protection of an escort. The instructions to Gov. 
Blount from the War Department authorized him to keep the militia in 
service only during the existence of immediate danger, and as lie was 
led by present appearances to indulge hopes of quiet to the settlements, 
he discharged all the troops at Knoxville, leaving but one company of 
infantry and twenty-five horsemen of Sevier's brigade in service. But 
the ravages of the Indians, principally Creeks, in small parties, knew 
no abatement, and the people were goaded and harassed almost to 
frenzy. 'I'hc Federal Government was unwilling in the midst of a 
fierce contest with the Northern tribes to enter into war with those of 
the South, and was positive in its refusal to Gov. Blount's reouest for 



11 

vigorous oflenslve operations, against the Creeks and Lower Chero 
kees. Bitter were the complaints of the frontier settlers against a poli- 
cy, which appeared to hold their lives and property as of trifling value, 
and eager were tliey, upon the occurrence of some fresh horror, to pur- 
sue the enemy to his own hunting grounds and there take their revenge. 
In several instances, they assembled in large parties for this purpose and 
in one, at Gamble's Station, were only dispersed by a proclamation of 
the Governor. In these days, when the spirit of disorder is so rife as 
to threaten with violence the very foundations of society, it would be 
dangerous perhaps, even if consistent with a dutiful reverence for the 
law, to apologise for such ebullitions of passion. 

The early inhabitaiitsof the country were gifted in an eminent degree 
with a high-toned spirit of independence. It was this, when suffering 
acutely under a sense of wrong, that led them to spurn the injustice, real 
or imaginary, of their rulers, and to the formation of the short-lived State 
of Franklin. And although liable to excesses, when coupled with a, 
sensitive heart or inflammable imagination, yet under the tutelage of an 
enlightened reason and discreet will, no ingredient of human character 
is more noble or laudable. We would detract nothing from its merit 
nor extenuate aught of its perversions. The President, although unable 
to meet the wishes of the borderers in regard to oflensive operations, was 
sedulous to cultivate a friendly temper among the Indians, and in the 
prosecution of his eiforls to this end, requested Gov. Blount to invite 
the Cherokees to send a deputation with him to Philadelphia. He ac- 
cordingly held a conference with them at Flenry's Station on the 17th of 
April, when he earnestly pressed them to a compliance with the Presi- 
dent's request, but they declined a decision at the time and warily pro- 
crastinated it until it was ir.^eless. 

Shortly afterwards an event occurred which occasioned sincere re- 
gret to his excellency and to the people of Knoxville. The Cbickasaws 
had been the fast friends of the Americans and many of them had fought 
gallantly under our flag. To the Shawnees they were highly obnox- 
ious and the deputation from that nation, which visited the Creeks and 
Cherokees in January, '93, to excile them to war with the United States, 
as they passed through the Cherokee Teritory, w^ere vehement in 
their threats of ruin upon the Cbickasaws, for the aid they had rendered 
the army of St. Clair. The Creck^, too, regarded them with bitter feei^ 
ings, and a recent occasion of quarrel had fanned the flame of resentment 
and kindled a war that promised to he unusually ferocious. The Creeks 
were numerous and powerful. The Chickasau's were brave, but too 
few, unaided, to contend successfully with their haughty and insolent 
foes; and in the emergency of the case they called uj)on the winte-mea 
for help, and reminded them of their mutual agreement to be as one man 
in regard to both enemies and friends. It v,-as of course politic, as it 
was a matter of gratitude and good faith, to avoid any cause of 
offence to a tribe that had proved its friendship in all times of danger 
and was now involved in a war, originating from the relations in which 
that friendship had placed them. Two Cbickasaws who were at Gov. 
Blount's on a visit, went with a Cherokee who was attached to their 
company into the woods to look after their horses. About six hundred 



12 

jards from the Govenior''s liousc they were fired upon by some dastardly 
whites to whom it was supposed tlio Cherokee was odious, and one of 
the Chickasaws received a mortal wound. Ho died the next day, and 
just before expiring, desired, with mueh magnanimity, of his companions, 
that satisfaetion should be taken only upon his murderer. Aware of 
the morbid sensitiveness and clannish spirit of the Indians, and no doubt 
truly sorry for the occurrence, Gov. Blount was solicitous that such res- 
pect should be paid to the remains of the deceased, as might efiace 
from the minds of ids brethren the evil impressions whicii the manner 
of his death would create. He was buried with military honors, — the 
Governor walking with the brother of the departed warrior at the head 
of the funeral piocession as chief mourners — followed by a large number 
of the citizens of the town and adjacent country. The regret and in- 
dignation was general. A reward of a hundred dollars was proclaimed 
by hisexcelleney for the detection of the otfenders, and mounted men 
scoured the country in search of them. The injured manes of the 
Chickasaw slept quietly and his aggrieved countrymen, accepting 
the honor rendered his dead body and the assurances of the white - 
men's sympathy, in the spirit witli which they were tendered, banish- 
ed all thoughts of resentment, and the bonds of national amity 
were as strong as before. Notwithstanding, the influence of the event 
upon the disaffected among the Cherokees, — several of that nation be- 
ing here at the time who did not fail upon their return to rumor so 
gross a violation of the laws of hospitality, — was neeessarily unfortu- 
nate. An outrage as little susceptible of palliation followed close upon 
the heels of that which we have related, and furnished the turbulent rnen 
of the lower towns an excuse for retaliation that was not neglected. 
Priorto Gov. Blount's departure for Philadelphia, a party of Indians 
murdered Mr. Gilham and his son in the neighborhood of Bullrun 
block house, sixteen miles from Knoxville,and Iviaj. Beard with a com- 
pany of fifty six men was despatched in pursuit of the marauders, under 
instructions not to cross the Tennessee river. These orders were trans- 
cended and about day-break of the 12th of June, they reached the house 
of Hanging Maw, where a number of Cherokees had assembled by in- 
vitation of the Government, for purposes of business withMaj. King and 
Danl. Carmichael. In the blindness of their rage, Beard's men attacked 
the party, killed several, including Hanging iMaw's wife, wounded the 
old chief himself, and only desisted from burning the house at the earn- 
est instance of King and Carmichael. On being informed of this vio- 
lence, Smith, the Secretary of State, Gov. Blount being absent, wrote 
from KnoxviUe to the Hanging Maw and other Chiefs, urging them not 
to take redress into their own hands, but to visit their great'father, the 
President, and he would give them satisfaction. The reply of the Hang- 
ing Maw is too rrood to be lost. It betrays much perturbation offeel- 
ing; and his contempt for the Secretary is so overflowing, that it finds 
vent in almost every other sentence. But he lamentably wants versatil- 
ity of language. 

"CovATEE, June 15th, 1793. 
"Friend and Brother:— It is but a faw days since you were left in the 
place of Governor Blount. While he was in place, nothing happened. 



13 

Surely thoy are mnkuig- tlicir fun of yon. Surely you are no head- 
man nor warrior. I ain jii;l iiiforuii'il \<>!i will Ip.ke s;iti--r;i;-i'h>i) lor nie, 
and I shall reckon it just the sainr- as il'l Irvl \:i\:i'\\ i' iny^rli'. i irekoti 
you are afraid of these thicfs, when you talk o!' senihni.;- fo (.'on^ress. 
If you are left in the plaeee" ■Jovernor you ought to lake siitisf;ii:-ii(Ki 
yourself. It was but a fi-w diys since I was at y:);ir 'iousc, a;i!! you 
told me that nothino- siiouKl liaiipen to nie nor any pronlc at niy hou-e; 
but since that, blood has Ijeen si/ilt at both our houses. I rcc.k<-ii that 
the white people are juslniaking- their fun of you. Governor !>iou!it 
always told me that nothin:^ should happen me as long as I did live, but 
he had scarcely got out of sight until I was invaded by them, and like 
to have got killed. I think you are afraid of these bad men. They 
first kdied the Ghiakasaws at your house, and this is is the second time 
of their doing mischief. I think you are afraid of them. When is the 
day thai a white man was killed at n)y house.'' I think the wiiite mfii 
make fun of you. Nou% blood is spilt at both our houses by your people. 
I think they are making fun ot you and won't listen to your talks." 

Smith, under the strong impression that avowed war was now inevi- 
table, renewed the orders given by the Governor some weeks previous, 
to hold One third of the militia of Washington district constantly pre- 
pared to march to the detence of the frontiers. A court-martial was 
ordered for the trial of Beard, but no punishment was ever inflicted upon 
him. The feelings of the borderers were now exasperated by the con- 
tinued ravages ot the Indians, to a point that mocked at longer forbear- 
ance, and parties of armed volunteers assembled and marched into the 
Cherokee nation in defiance of the remonstrances of the Secretary. 
One of these, consisting of a hundred and eighty men, returned from an 
incursion against the Indians on the 13th of August, and the statements 
which the prisoners they had taken concuired in making, that almost 
the entire nation was gathering to the council at Eustanaula, preparatory 
to an inroad upon the Holston settlements, confirmed the prevalent ap- 
prehension of danger. Tiie cry was raised for preparations for defence, 
and many reproaches were uttered against the authorities for their ap- 
parent supineness. It was known to the savages that a quantity of 
goods and ammunition was in store at Knoxville, and the general im- 
pression was entertained that it would be made the object of attack. 
The Governor was still absent and the militia of the upper counties un- 
der Sevier was not expected until September. 

Since April, the Spaniards had made professions of amicable inter- 
ference between the United States and the Indians, but were eitlier in- 
sincere, or fickle in their poVicy; for it is unquestionable that they did 
not hesitate to incite the latter to the proposed descent upon the Holston 
settlements, which contemplated the destruction of Knoxville. Re- 
venge for the affair at the Hanging Maw's was made the ostensible rea- 
son for the inroad, and was so mentioned in the letters of Spanish agents 
and applauded as a laudable motive. 

On the 12th of September, Jaudenes, with the approval of the Bar- 
on de Carondalet, Spanish Governor at New Orleans, transmitted in- 
structions to Governor White at Pensaeola to furnisli the Cherokees with 
seven hundrerl pounds of powcier and fourteen hundred of ball for this 



14 

infonded foray. h'\\\]('. Turkey, wiio nolangrr previous limn tlie 5th of 
June had written to Gov. Clnunf, tint at a recent mepting witli an em- 
bassy from the "Northward Indians,"" he had answered tlieir allusion to 
the readiness of Spanish aid, !)y roundly declaring that the Spaniards 
"was a lyin,5, deceitful, treacherous people, — was not real white, peo- 
ple, and what few he liad seen of them looked like mulattoes ;" — this 
same veriiable Litile Turkey was the be?rer of Jaudenes' letter. The 
agency of the Baron de Carondalet was afterwards adinitted by Messrs. 
Jaudenes and Viar, Spanish Commissioners, in a communication to Mr. 
JcU'erson, Secretary of State, and delended upon the ground of the trea- 
ties of '84 between the Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Talapuches and 
the Government of Spain; and the apology would have some specious- 
ness, if by any process of d plomatic magic lir^ ind'^pendent nation 
of Cherokccs could be transformed info a tributary of either of those 
tribes. Three fourths of the savages assembled for the incursion were 
Creeks; one hundred were liorsemen. According to Haywood, their 
march was delayed until the receipt of the ammunition froni Flo- 
rida. 

Their entire number lias been variously estimated, from nine to fifteen 
hundred, but was most probably about the latter. Secretary Smith, in 
his report of the invasion to the Secretary of War, states that in many 
places they marched in files of twenty-eight abreasr, each of which was 
supposed to be composed of forty men, but afterwards declares the es- 
timate too low. Knoxville, the object of plunder and ruin. to this for- 
midable band, and which the news of its coming had reached, could at 
that time muster but forty fighting men; but these forty were no cravens 
to fly at the approach of danger, even though it presented itself in ihe 
terrible shape in which it then menaced them. Here were their homes, 
their families, their all; and wiln an alacrity and zeal worthy of the crisis, 
they prepared to defend their firesides. A knowledge of Indian cun- 
ning, with other reasons, induced them to conclude that the approach 
of the savages to the town would not be made by the main western road,, 
but in a more northern and circuitous direction; and they determined to 
meet them on the ridge, over which the road to Clinton now passes, 
about a mile and a half from town, and there by a skilful arrangement 
of their little company, check their march, and, if possible, alarm 
and intimidate them. Leaving the two oldest of their number to mould 
bullets in the block-house wliich stood on the spot now occupied by 
the Mansion House and which contained three hundred guns belonging 
to the United States, the other thirty-eight proceeded under the com- 
mand of Col. James White to station themselves on the south side of 
the ridge we have mentioned, with an interval of twenty feet between 
each man. Orders were given toreserve their fire until the Indians were 
brought within the range of every gun, when at a given signal, they 
were to pour in upon them a well-directed volley, and, before the savages 
could recover from their surprise, secure their own retreat to the block- 
house, and there, with iheir wives, mothers, and children around them, 
sell their lives at a fearful price, or scatter from the port-holes a shower 
of leaden iiail among the besiegers that would drive them from their 
banquet of blood. Jiappily neither of these contingencies awaited 



lo 

them; for the Indians were so delayed by their own dissensions, that 
tliey were unable to reach Knoxville before dayliglit, and theiefore 
abandoned the attack. This fact, however, detracts nolhinj^ from the 
excellence of the courage — the dauntlesness of the heroism — exhibited 
by ihe citizens. The Rev, Mr. Foster, whose elegant pen has recorded 
an account of the event, justly declared, ihat "an inculent fraught wiili 
so much magnanimity in the early fortunes of Knoxville, should not be 
blotted from the records of her fame. It is an incident on which the 
memory of her sons will linger without tirmg,j when the din of party 
shall be hushed and its strife forgotten. Those men of former days 
were made of sterner stutf than to s'.iiink from danger at the call of 
duty. And it will be left to a future historian to do justice to that little 
band of thirty-eight citizens, who flinched not from the deliberate ex- 
posure of their persons in the 0])en field, within the calculated gun- 
shot of fifteen hundred of the fleetest-running and boldest savages." 

The delay of the Indians until the approaching dawn deterred them 
from their contemplated assault upon the town. This delay was mainly 
attributable to their dlfierences in consultation upon a point which Provi- 
dence intended should never come within reach of their decision. Con- 
sidering the particular purpose of their inroad as certam of accomplish- 
ment, the question arose among them, wliether they should massacre all 
the inhabitants of Knoxville or only tlie men. Hanging ISlaw, less sangui- 
nary than others, protested earnestly against an indiscriminate slaugh- 
ter; but the opposition to his clemency lacked nothing in zeal and ob- 
stinacy, and the halt u as prolonged until they determined it was pru- 
dent to forbear the attack. They had indulged, however, with such con- 
fidence the expectation that day-break would find their hands filled with 
reeking scalps, that thby could no*, altogether forego a sacrifice of vic- 
tims. Cavel's Station, eight miles from Knoxville, near the present 
resident ot Joseph Lonas, was a convenient object for their rapacity. 
It was the morning of the 25th of September. They had marched all 
night, excepting the time consumed in fruitless debate, y.nd about sun- 
rise commenced their attack on Cavel's; but were received with such 
spirited resistance by the three men in the building who alone were armed 
with guns, that two of their number were soon killed and three others 
wounded. Their habitual duplicity and cunning were brought into ser- 
vice ; and through Bob Benge, a half-breed u'ho spoke English, a (con- 
ference was opened with the whiles, and assurances given them that their 
lives siiould be spared upon surrender and their persons exchanged for 
Indian prisoners. Cavet and his party, including women and children 
thiiteen in number, consented to the proposals, but had scarcely crossed 
the threshold of the door, when the ferocious Double Head and his fol- 
lowers fell upon and murdered them all with the exception of a child 
who was saved by John Watts, taken as a prisoner to the Creek nation, 
and afterwards tomahawked. It is due to Bob Benge to state, that he 
strove to avert their fate. Leaving the Station in flames, the Indians 
retreated rapidly in the direction of Clinch, for they knew that Gen. 
Sevier was then at Ish's Station, eighteen miles below Knoxville, with 
four hundred men under arms, and that the news of their outrage would 
soon reach his cars, spread over the country, and bring him speedy re- 



16 

infovcements. Had lliey continued to Knowille it would possibly have 
become ihcir prey; but as has usually been Uie case with large parlies 
of Indians, particularly when composed of different tribes, their num- 
bers constituted their weakness, — disunion took the place of harmony 
essential to success, and the light of day scared them from the consum- 
mation of their scheme. 

Sevier, acting under orders from Secretary Smith, did not long delay 
pursuit. Expresses were instantly despatched over the country and a 
lew days brought reinforcements that swelled his command to seven 
iiundred men, which were formed into two divisions, — that fiom the 
Washington District under Col. Bhiir, and the other, from Hamilton Dis- 
trict, under Col, Christy. Striking across the Tennessee at one of the 
upper fords below the mountains, they reached Eustenaula on the Coosa 
on the 14th of October. Learning there that the Indians under Watts 
had passed by but a few days previous, on the way from their recent 
invasion to a town on IIighfo\ver; after some delay for refreshment, 
they pressed on to that place, and on the I'i'th arrived at the junction of 
the Hightower or Etowah and Coosa. The savages had entrenched 
themselves behind the southern bank of the Etowah, opposite the usual 
ford. Col. Kelly, with a part of the Knox county regiment, was order- 
ed to the attack and a1temj)ted a passage half a mile below. The di- 
rection of the movement seems to have been taken tlirough an error of 
the guides, but it operated successfully as a ruse in drawing the Indians 
Irom their position. Observing this and satisfied of the vmpraclicabili- 
ty of crossmg at the lower ])oint, the main body of Kelley's party, 
under the command of Capt. Evans, dashed up to the ford, crossed the 
river and ascended the opposite bank in the face of superior numbers 
of the enemy, who had returned to the spot but not in time to recover 
their ambusli. The savages were repelled with some loss and fled 
with precipitation. Several S[)anish guns were found in their encamp- 
ment. Sevier's army crossed the Coosa unmolested, and, after destroy- 
ing several deserted towns loU'Cr down the river, returned to Knox 
county with the loss ot only three men. The cessation of hostilities 
by the Indians which followed, was attributed to their fear of a repeti- 
tion of this visit. The troops employed in this expedition were refus- 
ed payment by the Secretary of War, on the ground that it was under- 
taken without authority from the President and in violation of instruc- 
tions from the Department of War to Gov. Blount forbidding oilensive 
operations against the Indians. In '96, Hugh L. White, who served 
the campaign, petitioned Congress for remuneration, with the view of 
establishing a principle that would apply to all his fellow-soldiers; and 
in January, '97, Andrew Jackson, from the Committee of the House of 
Representatives to whom the petition was referred, reported a resolu- 
tion in favor of provision by law for the payment of the troops. 

The feelings of impatience in the Territory, under the forbearing poli- 
cy of the Government towards the Indians, were given vent to in Octo- 
ber by the Grand Jury of Hamilton District, composed of the coantie* 
of Knox and Jefferson, in an address to the Governor. They represent- 
ed the distress and indignation of the people in strong colors ; — expres- 
sed the hope that Congress would now regard an appeal for the protec- 



n 

tion of the Territory, — and suffgested to His Excellency the fact, that 
they nere entitled to an Assembly of Representatives, under the Con- 
gressional ordinance of '87, which accorded them the right, whenever 
their free ni ale inhabitants numbered tive thoiisat.d. Two days after- 
Wards, the Governor ordered an election of members to a Territorial 
Assembly ; the election was held on the 22d and 23d of December ; 
thirteen members were chosen from nine counties, Knox sending two, 
and the Assembly met in Knoxville on the 4th Monday of February, 
'94. On Monday nothing was done besides the appointment of the 
Speaker ana (^lerk. On Tuesday, a procession was formed of the. 
inembers; and preceded by their Speaker and the Governor, they 
went to a place of worship, where the Rev. Mr. Carrick delivered a 
sermon, the text of which the curious in such matters may find in the 
2d and 3d verses of the 1st chapter of Paul's Epistle to Titus. The 
citizens of Knoxville, for many years subsequent to its establishment, 
liad but an occasional sermon, and we may conclude were better led to 
appreciate the value of the piivilt^ge-, while to the people of the coun- 
try, fifteen miles were considered but a trivial obstacle to attendance 
upon minis'.erial services. This public evidence of their religious re- 
spect given by the Assembly was in keeping with the general disposi- 
tion of the people. The early inhabitants of the country felt, as did 
the leaders of the Revolution against Britain, that the race is not to the 
swift nor the battle to the strong, and were deeply imbued with devout 
reliance upon Him, who is able " to break the arrow of the bow% the 
shield, the sword, and the battle." Who but men so impressed, would 
have dreamed of a chaplain to an army of J 500 or 1800 militia, bent 
on an arduous campaign through the most unfrequented wilds, against 
distant savages.? Yet such was the case in tlie expedition of 1776, 
under the command of Col. Christian. He appointed Mr. Cummings,* 
a Presbyterian clergyman, chaplain, and the reverend gentleman march- 
ed the entire route. 

The Assembly recommended to the Governor offensive measures 
against the Indians if possible, and adopted an address to Congress, re- 
counting the grievances of their constituents and urging a declaration of 
war against the Creeks and Cherokees; and a bill was introduced into 
Congress, upon the presentment ot the memorial at its ensuing session, 
for the relief of the Territory but eventually failed. Upon the conclu- 
sion of its labors, the Assembly was prorogued by the Governor to the 
4th Monday in Aup;ust, when it again met. Wisely regarding Learning 
as the handmaid of Religion, and essential lo the perpetuity of liberal 
])rinciples and free Government, in September they established a Col- 
lege in the vicinity of Knoxville, which was called "Blount," in honor 
of the Governor. The reasons for its establishment are given in brief but 
comprehensive terms in the preamble of the act, and just precedence 
rendered to the education of the morals. 

"Whereas the Legislature of the Territory are di'^posed to promote 
the happiness of the peo[)le at large and especially of the rising genera- 
tion, by instituting seminaries of education, where youth may be habit- 

* Tradition differs as to the name of tlie chaplain. Mr. Rhea, the lather of 
the late Hon. John Rheaj of Sullivan county, is asserted lo have been the clergy- 
man alln.dpd to. 



18 

iiated to an amiable, moral, and virtuous conduct, and accurately instruct- 
ed in the various branches of useful science and in the principles of the 
ancient and modern languages." 

The Rev. Mr. Carrick was appointed President. The original Trus- 
tees numbered many ivorthy and eminent men. They were, His Excel- 
lency Gov. BlountfHon. Danl. Smith, Secretary of the Territory, Hon. 
David Campbell and Hon. Joseph Anderson, Territorial Judges; Gen. 
John Sevier, Willie Blount, and Arclii-bald Roane, afterwards Govern- 
ors of the State; Col. James White, Col. A. Kelly, Col. Wm. Cocke, 
Joseph Hamilton, Francis A. Ramsey, Charles McClung, George Roul- 
Btone, George McNutt, John Adair, and Robert Houston, The institu- 
tion preserved Its corporate existence until 1807, when the Trustees re- 
solved, that provided the General Assembly established East Tennessee 
College within two miles of Knoxville, the act for the establishment of 
Blount College might be repealed and its funds incorporated with those 
of the former: and the resolution, by the compliance of the Legislature 
Avith this provision,''was carried into effect. East Tennessee College 
was established by law on the 26th of October, 1807, as one of the two 
Colleges in the State for which 100,000 acres of land south of French 
Broad and Holston and west of Big Pigeon rivers, had been set apart by 
act of Congress the previous year. The act of the Legislature con- 
templated its establishment on ten acres of ground two miles from Knox- 
ville, conveyed in trust for that purpose by Moses White; but the Trus- 
tees being authorized to nse the building previously occupied by Blount 
College, it was retained in town and not removed until many years af- 
terwards to the present site of the University. 

At the same session, in '94, Knoxville was established by law, and 
Col. JamiBS King, John Chisolm, Joseph Greer, George Roulstone, and 
Samuel Cowan were appointed its commissioners. And whether for the 
encouragement of (he growth of the town, or to repair recent disasters, 
and perpetuate the existence of the settlements which savage rapacity 
threatened to destroy, or from general motives of justice and propriety, 
the Assembly a few days afterwards passed an important act, that may 
perhaps lead the bachelors present to long for the return of such halcyon 
days. It was as follows : 

"5e ii enacted by the Governor, Le^islalive Council^ and House of Rep- 
resentallves of the Territory of the United States of America, south of the 
river Ohio, That the tax on marriage licenses shall in future cease to be 
collected! " 

We have previously remarked that after the expedititon of Sevier, 
the Indians were less active in the prosecution of hostilities than before. 
In May, '94, strong professions of a disposition for peace ^vere made by 
the Hanging Maw on behalf of the nation. Many of the upper towns 
had been and still were pacifically inclined and were soon led to assume 
decided friendly relations. In July, Mr. John Ish was killed and scalp- 
ed a few yards from his block-house, eighteen miles below Knoxville; 
and John Boggs^ with eight or ten Indians, under the direction of Maj. 
King, were instantly despatched in pursuit of the murderers. The trail 
of their flight was found and followed until the pursuing party was over- 
taken by a runner with the news that one of the fugitives was behind 



19 

at a village near Hiwassce. Abandoning all hope of overtaking the 
main body, Maj. King and his little company returned and found the 
solitary Creek of whom the runner had informed them. The Chero^ 
kees, among ivhom Willioe, Hanging Maw's son, was conspiuous, seiz- 
ed, bound, and guarded him with sleepless care^until they had delivered 
him into the hands of the U. S. agent at Tellico. He was subsequently 
removed to Knoxville. The Governor issued a commission of oyer and 
terminer to Judge Anderson for liis trial in virtue of the Treaty at New 
York in 1790, between the United States and the Creek nation. He 
was tried, condemned, and executed, and died with stoical indifi'erence; 
but the revenge of his people which he threatened was ill-proportioned 
to the importance which the pomp and sonorousness of his name would 
import he held among them. ' He was designated in the bill of indict- 
ment, as Obonghohego of Toocaucaugee on Oakfuskee. 

The agency of Hanging Maw and others of the upper towns, in this 
and subsequent affairs, committed them to an alliance with the whites; 
but the men of the lower towns still preserved a warlike attitude and iu 
July gave ready passage to a large party of Creeks on their way to 
invade the Holston settlements. One half of the Knox county militia 
was ordered out under Col. White, and the Upper Cherokees, whose 
squaws and chilren were removed to the north side of the Tennessee 
for safety, promised their aid to repel the inroad, but no important event 
resulted. 

Several circumstances concurred about this time to impel the Chero- 
kees to measures of amity. An expedition, commanded by Maj. Ore 
of East Tennessee, in September attacked and burned the towns of 
Neckajack and Running Water upon the Tennessee, where the Creeks 
usually crossed in their irruptions; and the destruction of the towns was 
attended with much loss of life to the savages. Another event that 
happened, to cool the hitherto inveterate ardor of the Hotspurs of the 
lower towns, was the victory of Gen, Wayne on the Miami in August, 
of which a few of them were witnesses ; and they gravely reasoned 
that the northern Indians being quieted, Wayne's triumphant troops 
might be turned against their contumacious selves. To add to their 
apprehension was the current rumor of an early invasion of their country 
by a formidable body of men under the command of Gen. Logan and 
Col. Whitley of Kentucky. The 13th of October brought to Gov. 
Blount a peace talk from Double-Head, the hero of the slaughter at 
Cavet's Station, and who had just returned from a visit to the President. 
John Watts became deeply penitent, and solicited through Hanging 
Maw a conference with the Govenor at Tellico. The conference was 
held on the 7th and Sth of November. Four hundred warriors were 
present. Watts indulged in repeated protestations of the amicable tem- 
per of the lower towns, otTcred the Governor a siring of while beads 
as "a true talk and a public talk," from them, and appealed to Scola- 
cutta to corroborate his assertions. Hanging Maw answered the appeal 
and interceded in their favor. The Governor received the overtures of 
friendship with much gratitication. The ISlh December was design 
nated by agreement, for an exchange of prisoners and other spoils of war, 
3pd the meeting ended with the social enjoyment of a smoke by 



20 

the tr'io of head-men from the pipe of peace. Subsequent events did 
not belie(he sinceiiiy of these professions from tlie Cheiokees as a nation; 
but the Creeks coniinueil ihtur ravages. One of iheir assaults upon a 
solitary family was repelled in a manner so illustrative of the selt-pos- 
session and resolute courage which constant familiarity with danger bad 
imparted to the females ol that time, a& to be worthy of mention. 

On ihe night of the 25th of Way, '95, Mr. George Mann, living twelve 
miles above Knoxville, heard a noise at his slable, and leaving his house 
to discover the cause, his return was intercepted by Indians, who fired 
upon and dangerously wounded him. He fltd for concealment to a cave 
at a short distance, but was followed by ihe savages, dragged from his 
hiding-place, and slain. The wife had heard the retreating footsteps of 
the Indians as they pursued her husband, and having locked the door, 
sat in silent expectation, with her sleeping children around her. Soon 
she hears the tramp of approachuig feet ! Perhaps it is the neighbors, 
alarmed at the firing and coming to the rescue.^ She is about lo rush 
out and meet them. l)Ut she hears their voices in a strange tongue. — 
The horrible conviction siezes her that the savages are reluming to the 
slaugiiter ! The rifle is instantly in her hands. 'I'hat morning she had 
learned the use of its triggers, and levelling it carefully at tlie crevice of 
the door near the lock, she waits the result. Stealthy steps are n.oving 
along the wall ; thedottr is pressed against — it yields — is partly open — 
a savage is on his hands and knees at the entrance — another behind 
and still another. Her finger is upon the trigger — she thinks of her 
children and fires! The first Indian falls heavily to the ground — the 
second screams with pain — the others gather up the wounded and fly f 

That lone woman, by her courage and presence of mind, had repulstd 
twenty-five savage xvaniers. Had a word escaped her lips after the 
explosion of the rifle, the lives of herself and children would have been 
lost. The perfect silence impressed the Indians, and believing armed 
men to be in the house, they fied. 

In July, '95, notable events occurred, in the opening of the road from 
Knoxville to Nashville, so far as to allow the passage of a loaded 
wagon, and inihe arrival atKnexvilleoftwo wagons from South Carolina 
by way of ihe Warm Sprmgs. Peace with its healing influences was 
dawning upon the Territory, so long distressed by a ruthless war; and 
the people i ejoiced at the evidences of free and safe intercourse with c ach 
other and with adjoining States as the harbingers of rapidly increasing 
population and prosperity. So beset with dangers had been the path to 
Nashville, that the Territorial Assembly, in February, '94, had deemed it 
necessary to recommend to the Governor the provision ot a guard for 
the protection of the Cumberland members on their return from Knox- 
ville. Indeed the feeling of personal security in life and property had 
been so long an unknown thing to the settlers, that it must have been 
with irrepressible pleasure its return was liailed. The Governor had 
issued his proclamation for the meeting of the Territorial Legislature to 
consider llie erection of the Territory into a Stale, and on the29lh of 
June the Assenjblv convened and provided bylaw fortaking a census of 
the inhabitants, and, contingent upon the result of the enumeration, for 
the election of members to a convention to forma State Constitution. 
The inhabitants were found to number more than the requisite sixty 



21 

thousand, and elections of five delp2:n1os to llip ronvonlion from en rh 
county were held on the I 8th n\M\ IDtli oCDecemher. The conveiitioa 
met at Knoxville on the 1 Itli of Jaininry, '90, uiulpr fair nuspic^t-s At 
a conference with the Creeks and Chernkees at Tellieo the previous 
October, universal peace uas aiireed upon, and it promised lo reiich 
something nearer within reasonable ilistanee of pei petuify than tlie 
engagements of former treaties. The demands for remuneraiion, made 
by liie Teimessee mililia employeil against the Indians, vveie met and 
satisfied by Col. Henley, agent of the War Department; emigrants were 
pouring into the Territory, and joy and contentment tilled all its borders. 
The Constitution was adopted on t!ie 6th of February, and on the 6ih ot 
June following, Tennessee was admitted by act of Congress into the 
Union. The Territorial Assembly had allowed two dollars and a half 
per day to each member ol the Convention and the. same for every 
liiirty miles he might travel to and from Knoxville. The convention 
reduced this allowance nearly iifty i)er cent., and finally sealed their 
generosity and contempt of pecuniary considerations, by an unanimous 
resolution to receive nothing for their services. Their liberality has 
not since been paralleled. 

The Constitution [)rovided that Knoxville should be and remain the 
seat of Government until 1802. Subsequent Legislatures continued it so 
until 1807, when on the 21st of September, the Legislature met at 
Kingston; but, tor reasons which in the estimation of the members were 
of considerable urgency, two days afterwards adjourned to Knox- 
ville. The final removal of the seat of Government to Murfreesboiough 
took place in 1817. Is the sceptre ever to return? 

In '96, the town had progressed somewhat in population, and altliough 
its external appearance would but ill compare with that it now wears, 
it presented a favorable contrast to its condition soon after the treaty 
of Holston. Thebuidings were, without exception, of logs, not weath- 
erboarded; and public and private were some forty in number; — of 
which five were taverns, showing the place to have been one of consi- 
derable resort. The stores were those of Col. McClellan, Joseph 
Greer, John Crozier, and the Messrs. Cowan. Roulstone's printing office 
occupied a spot that is now about the centre of business. The barracks 
stood on the highest point of the hill, and, with its port holes and un- 
covered platform, being simply a projection of the second floor a few 
feet from the walls oftlie building, running its whole length, presented 
an odd contour*. The company of United States troops occupying it 
was under the command of Capt. Ricard, wdio was but a Lieutenant 
when the troops first reached here. The Capt., Carr by name, having 
been arrested by Ricard for drunkenness, resigned his office and the 
Lieutenant was promoted to it. The space of ground east of the bar- 
racks was unenclosed, — preserved cleanly swe|jt by the soldiers, — and 
a[)propriated, in the asbence of a room sufficiently capacious, to the pub- 
lic exhibitions of the students of Elount College. The scene, as des- 
cribed to us by a gentleman learned in all that relates to our ancient 
times, must have been strikingly unique. The stage erected against the 
wall of the barracks, — (a room of which was devoted to the use of the 
students who were to be the speakers of the day,) — the citizens pass- 



00 



inj5 by stalely scnliiifU into [lie. open area, where seats were prepared 
Ibr their accommodation, — l!ie silent throng' standing with uncovered 
heads in prayer — then the voice of the Reverend President commanding 
in sciiolaslic phrase the appearance cf the youthful orator, and the bursts 
of martial music and the lit ing of cannon with which the intervals of 
juvenile dis[)lay were enliven(u!, — all consiitute a picture of early days, 
rich to us in novelty. The jail stood on the corner of Gay and Main 
Streets, now occupied by tiie Rail Road Bank, and although insufFicient 
in size to exert much terror upon offenders against the laws, was more 
secure than many more imposing edifices. It was built of huge hewed 
logs, was abouttwelve feet in height, lengih, rnd width, and proved to Us 
buUder, as did the gallows prepared for Mordecai, to Haman, for he 
was its first occupant. The Court Mouse, standing on the south side of 
Main Street a short distance east of Gay, was more respectable in ap- 
pearance; but before the consent of tlie county was obtained to the erec- 
tion of anew one, it became highly obnoxious by its dilipidation to the 
citizen?, but more particularly to the lawyers. One of the latter, a frol- 
icksome Irishman, determined to remove the universal pest by fiie, not 
as Erostratus did the temple at Ephesus, for the sake oi^ immortality, 
but from an anxious regard for the public comfort. And so, on a quiet 
winter night, when a deep snow was upon the earth, it was burned 
down, to the great satisfaction of the town after the first alarm had sub^ 
sided. A citizen who lived near the burning mass, and who was of 
almost gigantic stature, with a proportional longitude of feet, was first 
at the fire, and walked around it again and again in the indulgence of 
an innocent curiosity. When the morning brouglit a crowd of citizens 
to look upon the ruins and dutifully hunt a clue to the detection of the 
offender, our mischievous Irish devotee of blackleftered lore was fore- 
most in the search ; and pointing to the foot-prints of the neighboring 
giant, as those of him who had burnt the house, he coolly declared it 
was " a nager, for no dacent white man would have such a fut as that." 
The detailed narrative of events, connected with Knoxville during 
the first few years of its existence, which we have given, because we 
thought it mote appropriate to the occasion than any thing else we could 
offer, will convey some idea of the fearful and imminent perils amidst 
which its infancy was cradled. Nor have we failed we hope to give 
some faint impiession of the more marked traits of character which its 
early inhabitants possessed in common with those of the Territory. — 
Their glowing love of country, their lofty independence, their devo- 
ted courage, their high religious trust, their zeal for education as the 
consequence of their deep regard for the welfare of their descendents ; 
all challenge our applause— all demand our emulation. In those days, 
professions of esteem pro bono publico were sealed with active efforts, 
not suflfered to evaporate in air. As if aware of the influence of as- 
semblies of public servants upon the manners and morals of the people, 
Ihey did not waste the hours of legislation in fruitless debates and rude 
personalities, but employed them in profitable labor, uninterrupted by 
frequent violations of parliamentary proprieties. The presence of such 
men in the seat of Government upon visits of business necessarily en- 
hanced the air of refinement of which Knoxville originally partook in 



23 

a rlegree that would scarcely liave been expected in a frontier village of 
a fewj'ears, growth. 

The subsequent history of the town is not without interest, but We 
have not made it our province to relate ii. The year '97 was remark- 
able for the ravages in the neighborhood of the Harpes, — two brother- 
demons in human shape, — whose thirst for blood was a tierce, relent- 
less appetite, that could only he wlietted, not gorged, with victims. — 
Tiieir series of murders appears to have had its commencement in this 
county. From here they passed into Kentucky, where the oldest, 
whose head was a paragon of hideousness, and who has been made the 
villain hero of a romance by Judge Hall ol' Cincinnati, consumma- 
ted his career of crime. 

The introduction of steam-boat navigation upon the Holston, giving 
a new impetus to the prospeiity of Knoxville, and the terrible crisis of 
the fate of the town, when it reeled like a drunken man under the strong 
breath of the pestilence, will always be regarded by its friends with 
interest, but are familiar occurrences to all, and we may be pardoned 
for omitting such a notice of them as their importance deserve. 

Fellow Citizens: — This anniversary of our town's nativity, you 
properly signalize as a holiday. But in vain is it so, — in vain this uni- 
versal joy and thronged assembly, — in vain the imposing procession and 
festal board; if we hail not the dawn of another half century upon 
the fortunes of Knoxville, with keener perceptions of our duty to each 
other, our Country, and our God, and with firmer purposes to perform 
tliem. Before us is the Future, with all its bright promises and undevel- 
oped mysteries; and among its actors ice are to mingle. Fifty years 
hence! — We too will have taken our positions on " that wide plain 
where the innumerable armies of the dead are encamped in stations 
which centuries have made." Another generation will here occupy our 
places and perhaps repeat the celebration in which we this day join. — 
But in all human probability how much larger the assembly. These 
suburbs may be crowned with substantial edifices, and the busy hum of 
thousands ot" voices rise from sirects where now but hundreds mingle. 
This picture of external prosperity is pleasant, but graver questions oc- 
cur. 

"What constitutes a Stale ? 

Not hjo^h-raised battlement or labor'd mound, 
Thick wall or mounted gate; 

Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned ; 
Not bays and broad-arm'd ports. 

Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride ; 
Not starr'd a&d spangled courts 

WhpfJedow-brow'd baseness wafts perfume to pride ; 
No : rtien,. high minded men ; — 
* * ' # * * # * 

Men, who their duties know. 
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain." 

Will the generation that? here moves and acts fifty years hence, be 
worthy the inheritance of freedom ? Simple in their habits — of unbend- 
ing virtue — deeply imbued with an ardent Patriotism and a sublime 



24 

Faith ? Ff'Uow citizens: — Your hands may =')in (lie warp of thoir 
destiny. You may make or mar their fate. Tne streams of your in- 
fluence, — of each and all — huinhle or hatii,^hty — as sure as the ligiitof to- 
morrow, will i?lidc down the comin;^ half-century, mms^lina: as they go, 
and sweeten or emhilter the hearts and lives of your children's children. 
Eloquently has it heen written: — "it is a high, Folemn, almost awful 
thought for every individual man, that his earthly influence which has had 
a commencement, will never, through all ages, were he the very meanest 
o( us, have an end. What is done is done; has already blended itself with 
the rver-living, ever-working Universe, and will also work there for 
good or for evil, openly or secretly, throughout all timi ." 

Fellow citizens: — Let us enter upon the Future with this high and 
solemn thought ever-present with us, urging us to union of action in 
promoting the common good — beautifying our social intercourse with 
]>leasant charities, and moving us to all noble conceptions and worthy 
deeds. 



LETTER FROM HUGH DUNLAT, ESQ. 

Paiiis, Ten., January 19, 1842. 

Mr. Eastman — Dear Sir : In your paper of the 22d ult. and the 
5th inst. 1 observed arrangements making for the celebration of the 
semi-centejinial anniversary of Knoxville. 1 am the only man, whom 
I know to be alive, who was living there when the lots were laid off. — 
It would be a source of unmixed pleasure to be present at the celebra- 
tion, if my health and the weather permitted. I could not conceive a 
higher gratilication than to meet at the festive board the children of 
those adventurous and worthy men who first settled Knoxville, and 
who were the more endeared to me by the very perils incident to its 
settlement. 

At the treaty of Holston, in 1791 , there were no houses except shan- 
tees put up lor the occasion to hold Government stores. Gen. James 
White lived in the neighborhood, and !iad a block-house to guard his 
family. At the treaty of Holston they used river water entirely, 
imtd Trooper Armstrong discovered the spring to the right of the street 
leading from the court-house to what is now called Hardscrabble. He 
at the time requested Gen. White, in a jest, to let him have the lot in- 
cluding the spring when a town was laid off; and when the town was 
laid off the Geneial ])reserved the lot and made him a deed to it. — 
Tliese facts were told me by Gen. White himself, for I was not present 
at the treaty. 

I left Philadelphia, with my goods, in December, 1791, and did not 
leach Knoxville until about the 1st of February, 1792. I deposited my 
goods and kept store in the house used by the Government at the treaty, 
though 1 believe the treaty itself was made in the open air. At tlie 
time 1 reached Knoxville, San^"-! •. -' --- ;-*— i. -•-.--^-- ■ - ^^-mim 



there-, John Chisuhn kcj)l a house of cnlci!aiiimciit ; nnd a man named 
McLemee was living there. Tlicse men, witii Ihcir families, constiliUe 
the inhabitans of Knoxville when I went there. Gov. Blount lived on 
Baibary Hill, a knoll below College Hill, and between it and the river. 
It was then approached from town by following' the meanders of the 
liver. The principal settlements in the county were on Beaver Creek. 
All the Aimilics lived in forts pretty much in those days; and, when 
the fields were cultivated, there was always a guard stationed around 
them for protection. There was a fort at CampbelTs Station, which 
was the lowest settlement in East Tennessee. The next fort and set- 
tlement were at Blackburn's west of the Cumberland Mountains ; the 
next at Fort-Blount, on the Cumberland river •, the next was a fort at 
Bledsoe's Lick; and then the Fre!^ch Lick, now Nashville. 

Tiic land on which Knoxville is built, belonged to Gen. White. In 
February, 17 92, Col. Charles McClung surveyed the lots and laid off 
the town. I do not recollect on what day of the month. It excited no 
particular interest at the time. The whole town was then a thicket of 
brushwood and grape vines, except a small portion in front of the river, 
where all the business was done. There never was any regular public 
sale of the lots ; Gen. White sold any body a lot, who would settle 
on it and improve it, for eight dollars ; and in this way, and at this 
price, the lots were generally disposed of. 

In the year 1793 the Creeks and Cherokees leagued together and 
raised an army under old Watts, a half breed, the head of the Cherokee 
nation,. to destroy the white settlements. Tliere were said to have 
been 1500 men under Watts. Double Head was a mere subordinate 
under W^atts, though his fame has been more lasting and wide spread, 
because of his vindi ctivc and ferocious character towards the whites, 
and his turbulence among his own people. They marched as far as 
Cavet's, seven miles from Knoxville, and made an attack upon his house. 
After resisting for some time the assaults of the Indians, Cavet, his 
son, and a militia man, the only men in the block house, capitulated 
under a promise that the family should be spared. After they surren- 
dered they were murdered, and the mother, two grown daughters, and 
perhaps some small children, were brutally despoiled and butchered. — 
This massacre, though horrid and heart-rending, was tiie salvation of 
Knoxville and the whole circumjacent country, for their force was 
powerful enough to have overrun and depopulated the white settlements. 
The Creeks committed the murder, against the wishes of the Chero- 
kees — a dispute arose among them about it — Watts refused to proceed 
farther, and the whole army of savages was virtually disbanded, and 
they returned to their villages and wigwams. A ciiild of Cavet's Avas 
not killed at the block house. It was taken prisoner — two Creeks 
claimed it — they had their tomahawks dra\vn on each other, Avhen a 
third party, to quiet the rival claims, tomahawked the child. It was 
thought for some years the child was living, but the Indians afterwards 
told all the circumstances. 

In 1793, the first Government troops were stationed in Knoxville 
under the command of Capt. Carr, a revolutionaiy officer; his Lieu- 
tcnat, liicard, had him arrested, a lew months after their arrival, for 

-t) 



26 

ciruiikonnoss. Carr was cling-rinr.d al the clTorls of his Liculonanl to 
supplant, liim and resigned, and Ricard was pvomloed to Carr's od'iee. 
They built their barrack where EUicldrcd Williams has since erected 
a brick house, opposite tlic Courthouse. I believe the Convention of 
179G sat in it. 

In 1793, Col. Christy, who was commanding the U. S. troops at 
Ivnoxville, died, and was buried with martial and masonic honor on 
what is now College Hill. It was a magnilicent procession — by far the 
most splendid funeral that had ever been witnessed in the Territory. — 
In the same year died Titus Ogden, a merchant, and paymaster to the 
troops and of the Indian annuities which Gov. Blount was Superintend- 
ant of, the four tribes of Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Choctaws. 
I mention the death and burial place of these two men, as I have been 
told, that in digging the foundation for the College, two skeletons u^erc 
exhumed, and supposed to have been those fo Indians buried there. They 
were no doubtthe bones of Col. Christy and Titus Ogden. I was at the 
burial of both, and did not suppose that the graves of two men, so noted 
in their day, and buried " with all the pomp and circumstance of war, '* 
would have been so soon forgotten. Col. King and myself were, at the 
time, and for several years afterwards, commissaries for all the troops 
stationed in East Tennessee. 

After the county had increased in population sufliciently to protect 
itself, in a great measure, from the incursions of the Indians, it was 
kept in constant alarm for some time by the depredatioiis of the Harps, 
two men who were fugitives from their native State. They made a 
crop on Beaver Creek, and furnished the butcher in Knoxville, old John 
Miller, for some months with hogs, sheep, and cattle they had stolen 
from their neighbors. They afterwards secreted themselves and made 
marauding expeditions against the lives and property of the citizens. 
One of them had two wives, sisters of the name of Rice. The Hrst 
man they killed in Knox county was young Coffee, on Beaver Creek. — 
Johnson was their next victim, murdered within two miles of Knox- 
ville. I had attempted to take them on several occasions and they kill- 
ed Bullard under the impression it was me. They killed Bradbury af- 
terwards, who, I believe, was the father of Gen. Bradbury of the Senate. 
They left Knox county in 1797 or 8, and their villanies made their sub- 
sequent history notorious. 

I beg you to excuse the length of this letter — I cannot think of those 
early times without in some degree living them over again. I under- 
stand a distinguished literary gentleman of your county is collecting 
materials to write the early history of Tennessee. I hope he may not 
lalter in an undertaking where the materials are so rich and the fame 
so certain. 

Very respectfully, 

HUGH DUNI.A^ 



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